Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-26
ZUNIS AND MOQUIS.
A Paradise for EthnOlO-
gists in Easy Reach.
ROOM FOR INVESTIGATION
A Wealth of Traditional Lore and
Of Vestiges of an Ancient
Civilization.

The new lines of railway in Arizona
furnish ethuologists and antiquarians
fine opportunities for examining into
the prehistoric races that have lived
in the great romantic country Just
across the Colorado, the sun-kissed
wonderland of Arizona and New
Mexico. In this land the Zuni and
Moqui villages are rich and great an
tiquities, which have been partially
Investigated, and some Of their tradi-
tions which are very curious have
been published but the main work of
Investigation in a thorough manner
has not been begun.
The ablest scholars in antiquities
and hieroglyphics should be engaged
to examine the more than Egyptian
vestiges of prehistoric nations in Ari-
xona. The traditions OF the remain
ing ancient tribes give interesting
hints of the nations that preceded
them. Among these tribes are some
marked specimens of Albinos which
are accounted for by story that sew
-eral centuries ago company of Welsh
miners coming north from Mexico
were killed by the Zuni's while their
wives and children were retained as
members of their tribe. This state
.ment has a shadow of truth in it, as
there are many words OF Welsh ac-
cent in their language and the features
of the Albinos strongly resemble the
Welsh.
Lieutenant Ives. of the United
States Army, who visited these tribes
an 1858, says that in q visit to the
MOquis: "a woman with a fair, white
complexion has been in camp this
morning. It seems incredible that
she should be of Indian parentage,
but such cases are by no means rare
in the pueblos Of New Mexico and
Arizona. 1t seems scarcely reasona-
BILE to found theory of Zuni origin
upon these two evidences, and from
the ancient story that a party Of
Welsh miners sailed from Mexico and
were never heard of again." The
Zunis have no tradition of the Welsh
men coming to their land in ancient
times.
The Lieutenant noticed one man, u
giant in size, with pale face covered
with freckles, who seemed to avoid
notice and observation. All such
persons are treated with more solicit
.tude than the tawny-faced inhabitants.
The Zunis have a tradition, an un-
written epic, like the "Illiad" of
Homer, which is entrusted to the
memory of priest, who has nothing
to do but to remember the lines and
Tecite them on memorable occasions.
He is a sort of bard and historian of
the tribe, and supported by the con-
tributions of his people. But to pre-
vent loss, by accident or other fatal
ity, of this ancient epic, this priest
has four assistants, who are selected
from the tribe and taught the lines by
the old man, in order that they may
preserve the ancient story, and also
assist him in the public ceremonies
and conduct the services after his
death. The epic is sort of Bible to
this ancient tribe.
Like the use of the Bible it is re-
cited in chapters, and not as COM
.plete story at time.
The work begins with the mythical
origin of the people, and then enters
into traditional history of the tribe.
1t is constructed in perfect rhyme and
rythm with many Oriental figures.
1t describes the invasion of the con-
queror Coronado nearly in the same
manner as described by the conqueror
himself, and tells the places where
their ancestors lived before the con-
guest, in all of which there are an
cient ruins at the present day. These
are mostly far away from the present
habitation of the tribes, and have not
been visited by them in three hun
dred years. Every ruin which their
epic Bible describes has been found
and identified by many explorers.
The Moquis who live in Arizona
seventy miles northwest of Zuni have
a legend that the earth was once
small island inhabited by one man
whose father was the sun and whose
mother was the moon, that the gods
sent wife to him to cheer him in his
solitude, and that as his family grew
the earth grew too. The children be-
C2Ine TcSulcSS duu ujSSdtlbllCu duu 81
began in after years to wander abroad
and build towns.
These towns were far apart and the
people in them failed to keep up an
acquaintance, and the following CEN
turies forgot their common ancestry.
Many centuries ago war broke out
between the original permanent set
tiers and these scattered tribes were
driven away to the mountains and
rocks, where they made caves and
nested in the walls like wrens and
swallows. They built walls and ex-
cavated reservoirs in the rock, and
made strong fortresses. Here they
repulsed the besiegers after long and
bloody fight Of many days.
After this bloody victory they moved
southwark, and in the deserts of Ari-
zona made new towns in impregnable
rocks, where their descendants, the
Moquis, now have their dwelling place.